Despite the year-and-a-half left on the Performing Arts and Event Center’s construction deadline, city officials have secured the venue’s concert piano.
And it’s been nestled in the corner of City Hall’s lobby since June.
Performing Arts and Event Center Executive Director Theresa Yvonne said the city purchased the used Steinway and Sons Concert Grand Model D piano for $95,000 in May 2015 after it was listed for $105,000.
A new Steinway costs about $200,000 she said.
But before they purchased the 990-pound instrument, Yvonne asked Steinway artist Mark Salman to accompany her to test it out. Salman has played with the Federal Way Symphony before.
“Ironically enough, it is the exact same year piano he has privately in his home and he played it, pounded on it, and it was just glorious to listen to him,” Yvonne said, adding that Salman said the 1994 piano’s quality was that of a new one. “Whoever owned this piano never played it. The harp isn’t even broken in yet.”
Even though Yvonne and the city knew the bid for the the Performing Arts and Event Center hadn’t even been awarded (that would take place in October 2015), they had to lock down the “screamin’” deal before the Steinway warehouse the piano was located closed.
“It’s budgeted as much as the rate, so the Catch 22, of course, is that they’re closing that showroom so if we purchased it, we have to take possession of it,” Yvonne said.
Deciding to keep it in City Hall’s lobby proved to be fruitful, as the foyer has great acoustics, Yvonne said.
“I actually think it’s very safe here,” she said. “No. 1, it’s on camera. No. 2, it’s right next to the police. No. 3, I had to send out an email this morning to let staff know we were going to be playing it because trust me, when somebody starts playing on it, staff goes, ‘Who are you and what are you doing? Do you have permission to have that blanket off?’ So we’re a little possessive of it.”
Yvonne said they toyed with the idea of storing the piano under the City Hall staircase and build a box for it but determined rolling it out each time whenever someone wanted to play it would increase the likelihood the nearly 9-feet long piece would get damaged.
“It’s not going to live at city hall forever,” she said. “The best place for it is on the stage.”
In fact, most people walk by the piano and don’t even notice it, Yvonne noted.
In the piano’s time at City Hall, the Federal Way Coalition of the Performing Arts has held a fundraiser for the piano’s real home, the Performing Arts and Event Center, in December 2015. The Federal Way Youth Symphony performed the first of five planned fundraisers.
“We’re going to feature it over the course of the next years with groups, so they can come play and feature the piano and talk about them moving into the hall,” Yvonne said. “It’s just a way for us to highlight what’s going to be happening in the hall and also shed some limelight on the seat campaign.”
The naming rights for the piano will cost about $100,000. Yvonne said someone is interested but wouldn’t disclose who.
There’s also 716 seats in a seat campaign and all of them are open to naming rights, which can be considered a charitable, tax deductible contribution. So far, Jan and Tom Crews have donated toward the outdoor plaza, Jeanne and Dr. Jim Burbidge made donations towards the orchestra pit, the box office was named to Atomy Cosmetics, Joann Piquette donated towards conference room 1 while the Federal Way Coalition of the Performing Arts gave to conference room 2. And the culinary arts kitchen received funds from Linda and Jack Butcher.
Naming rights for a lobby cafe and bar are available for $35,000, the entrance foyer is available for $75,000, the orchestra shell is $100,000 and the patron’s lounge’s naming rights are $250,000.
For more information on the Performing Arts and Event Center’s fundraising campaign, visit www.fwcpa.org.
City of Federal Way employee Jennifer Marshall plays the Steinway piano in City Hall’s lobby. RAECHEL DAWSON, the Mirror
